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Sherry Eyerly
Real Name: Sherry Melissa Eyerly Nicknames: No known nicknames Location: Salem, Oregon Date: July 4, 1982 Bio Occupation: Pizza Delivery Driver Date of Birth: December 6, 1963 Height: 5'2" Weight: 100 pounds Marital Status: Unrevealed Characteristics: Caucasian female. Brown hair, blue eyes. Case Details: Eighteen-year-old Sherry Eyerly was a pizza delivery driver for Domino's in Salem, Oregon. She had worked there for about a month. She vanished on July 4, 1982 while delivering pizzas to Riverhaven Drive near Brown Island Road. Her destination was a non-existent address near the Williamette River. At 10PM, her Ford Pinto was discovered with the engine idling. Pizza boxes were scattered on the ground around it. One had a tire track on it; another had a boot print on it. No trace of her was found at the scene, but investigators were convinced that she had been abducted. Police and Sherry's loved ones searched the area around her abduction site. However, no trace of her was found. Police did locate several witnesses who saw a suspicious older-model truck parked on the side of the road around the time of her abduction. One month after she vanished, Dallas psychic investigator John Catchings awoke at 3AM from a sound sleep. At the edge of his bed, he saw the ghostly figure of a young woman standing there. He believed that there was a reason she appeared to him. Four days later, he received a package from Salem investigators with information about Sherry's case. When he saw her photograph, he realized that she was the woman he had seen in his bedroom. Investigators had contacted Catchings at the request of Sherry's parents. They were hoping that he could bring them some closure surrounding her disappearance. His first impression was that she was not "missing" but was actually dead. He believed that she was suddenly and violently abducted by someone that she knew. As his wife read through the report, he had a "vision" of a white house. The front door was open and it appeared that there were stairs right in front of the door. He also saw white pillars or posts that were "superimposed" over the house. After reviewing the case, Catchings traveled to Oregon. He was escorted to the scene of Sherry's abduction by Capt. Will Hingston. He wanted to go there to see if he could determine where her body was located. While there, he had visions of what he believed happened that night: she was driving down the road, looking for an address that she couldn't find. She was approached by a pickup truck with several lights on it. The driver tells her that he ordered the pizzas and gave the wrong address. As she gets out of her car to give them to him, he grabs her from behind and drags her into his truck. As they walked around the site, Catchings asked if Hingston had a list of possible suspects that drove a green-colored pickup truck, as this type of vehicle was seen in the area prior to Sherry's abduction. As Hingston read the names, one of them stood out to Catchings. The man's name was Darrell J. Wilson. Catchings felt that he had something to do with Sherry's abduction. According to Hingston, Wilson became a suspect when an individual contacted investigators and told them that he had owned a lime green pickup truck. He had apparently painted it brown just eight days after Sherry's abduction. According to the informant, he knew her and another girl who had vanished from the Salem area around the same time. On August 21, 1982, Hingston agreed to take Catchings to Wilson's home. Catchings was shocked to discover that the home was the same one that he had seen in his vision. When they drove to the back part of it, there was a car port. It was supported by white posts; this was identical to what Catchings had seen in his vision. When Hingston questioned Wilson about taking a polygraph, he refused. However, he strangely said that he would talk to a psychic. Catchings then came out of the car and met with him. He was certain that Wilson was responsible for Sherry's disappearance. Two hours later, Hingston was called back to Wilson's home; he had committed suicide. He did not leave any note or information that may have led investigators to Sherry's body. Hingston is quite confident that Wilson was involved in her case. However, he believes that at least one other person was involved in her abduction. Catchings also believes that Wilson was responsible. Her family still hopes to find her body and learn what really happened on the night she vanished. Suspects: The caller appeared to be a middle-aged man who said his name was "Dunbar". During the call, he apparently spoke to another individual about what to order. Near the end of it, he mentioned that they had previously gotten pizza from another female driver who drove an orange Volkswagon. They claimed that she would know where the address was. She was not working that night. The callback number was for the City Center Motel. The caller has never been identified. Several witnesses reported seeing a suspicious pickup truck parked on the side of the road around the time of Sherry's disappearance. It had four-wheel drive with large tires. It had two spotlights on top of the cab. The front was off the road and the back was facing the roadway. The truck and its driver have never been identified or located. Wilson was considered the prime suspect in Sherry's disappearance. He had apparently known her as well as another person who had recently disappeared. When questioned, he initially lied about knowing her. He had a green pickup truck similar to one seen in the area where she disappeared, and it had been repainted eight days after her disappearance. He told police that he was camping with friends at Elk Lake the night of Sherry's abduction, but there were eight hours that he couldn't account for. Included in that time frame was the time in which she was abducted. Less than two hours after meeting with Catchings and Hingston at his home, he took his own life. He had been involved in drugs for several years. It is now believed that he was merely troubled and had no connection to Sherry's case. Extra Notes: This case first aired on the November 10, 1991 episode. It was also profiled on On the Case with Paula Zahn. Results: Unresolved. Cold case investigators reopened Sherry's case years later. They felt that Wilson did not fit the behavioral profile of the abductor. He had been involved in drugs but had no other criminal history. They looked into the possibility that someone else was involved. They believed that Sherry's abductor had committed similar crimes in the past. After looking through other case files, they found a similar murder that took place one year after she vanished. The victim was Katie Redmond; she had vanished after leaving a late night college party. Her car was found with the motor running, the door open, and signs of a struggle. This was almost identical to Sherry's abduction scene. Her body was later found in a river; her killer was identified as William Scott Smith and he was convicted in her case and that of Rebecca Darling. He was initially questioned about Sherry's case, but denied involvement. He claimed that he was driving truck in Washington state at the time. However, years later, investigators took another look at Smith. They found that he had been stopped and questioned by police near Salem within hours of Sherry's abduction. This refuted his claim of not being in the area at the time. After questioning his cellmates, they learned that he had mentioned being involved in an incident with a "pizza girl". However, he did not refer to Sherry by her name. The inmates were able to record these statements on cassette tapes and give them to police. In 2007, Smith was interviewed again. He initially refused to talk; however, he changed his mind when he was offered to change prisons in exchange for his cooperation. He then confessed to being involved in Sherry's abduction and murder. He claimed that his friend, Roger Noseff, ordered the pizzas and that they waited for her to arrive. When she did, Smith flagged her down. As she picked up the pizzas, they grabbed her and dragged her into their truck. They then took her to an area near Smith's parent's home where he strangled her. He then dumped her body into the Pudding River, where he had dumped those of his other victims. However, because of flooding in the area, her body may never be found. Smith's description of the abduction matched the physical evidence found at the scene. He also gave investigators information about the crime that had never been released to the public. For example, he knew the brand of pizza that had been ordered. He told them that he and Noseff had planned to abduct another delivery driver that they knew and hold her for ransom. She was the same driver that was mentioned by the caller. However, she was not working that night, and Sherry was her replacement. He also told them that Noseff had made a ransom call to Domino's the day after Sherry's abduction, demanding $50,000 for her safe return. This detail had also never been released to the public. Noseff died in 2003, several years before the confession. On December 18, 2007, Smith pleaded guilty to Sherry's murder and was sentenced to life in prison. In 2011, he pleaded guilty to the murder of Terri Monroe, who was killed in 1981. Wilson is no longer believed to have been involved in Sherry's case. Links: * Sherry Eyerly on The Charley Project * Sherry Eyerly on The Doe Network * Sherry Eyerly on NamUs * Searchers still seeking missing pizza deliverer * Search for missing woman continues, but no success * Family of missing pizza deliverer offers reward * Police link dead man to missing woman, girl * Sherry Eyerly case: Parents mark year of pain * Smith arraigned for two Salem murders * Family's loss fresh 20 years later * Suspect Arrested in 25-year-old Disappearance of Sherry Eyerly * Convicted serial killer pleads guilty to murder of 18-year-old girl * Convicted serial killer pleads guilty to third murder * Inmate's plea officially closes decades-old Salem murder * My cousin was an "Unsolved Mysteries" episode * Sherry Eyerly on Find a Grave * William Scott Smith on Murderpedia ---- Category:Oregon Category:1982 Category:Disappearances Category:Abduction Category:Ford-Related Cases Category:Unresolved